Historic Dublin Area Map: PDF | Interactive | New Interactive (beta)
Existing Character
Establishing Dublin’s original village as a valued place for residents and visitors is important to provide a special location that embodies a true sense of community. The City’s historic district, Historic Dublin, is a unique and charming mixed use area that is characterized by residential-scale architecture and the distinctive use of local limestone. Historic Dublin is centrally located within the City, adjacent to the Scioto River and includes public and commercial uses along two main streets: High Street and Bridge Street. These main commercial thoroughfares are surrounded by neighborhoods of single-family homes and civic uses. The area is bordered by the Scioto River to the east, the Indian Run to the north, Cosgray Ditch to the south and Corbins Mill Drive to the west.
This historic area contains a great deal of character and potential for continued development as the historic center of the City. Through the Historic Dublin Revitalization Plan and the Historic Dublin Market Assessment, the City continues to comprehensively set direction for the District’s future by evaluating current strengths and weaknesses and targeting future opportunity. This Plan acts as a general policy guide for future development within the Historic District that should be evaluated within the context of other applicable plans and implementation guides.
Planning Challenges and Issues
Establish new a central focal point and unique gateway features
As the historical center of the City, the Historic District offers various opportunities as a civic and cultural central focal point within the community. Creating civic spaces and public gathering places along with enhancing the important gateways to the area is integral in future development and redevelopment within the District. As with other historic areas, civic uses play an important role in establishing a psychological center for the community that provides opportunity for public interaction and civic activity. The establishment of clear entry points into the historic district through landscape design, streetscape treatment, architectural scale and massing and other decorative means are important to signify Historic Dublin as a unique and special place.
Enhance the quality streetscape environment in the District
The character of streets within the District has a strong impact on the overall visual quality and pedestrian experience of the area. It is important for the vitality of Historic Dublin to promote appealing streetscape design and roadway standards that facilitate the goal of creating a successful pedestrian environment that is important to the success of area shops and businesses. Bridge Street serves as the most critical challenge for the district as a state route that bisects the historic area. Managed traffic, streetscape design and scale that enhances the pedestrian environment and clear locations for pedestrians to traverse the street are important ingredients to provide a clear sense of place and to physically unite the District as one identifiable physical place.
Increase safe vehicular and pedestrian choices within the District
Historic Dublin is a very pedestrian scale environment with an integrated mix of uses that should facilitate a proper balance between both vehicular and pedestrian movement. To ensure the integrity of the area, greater vehicular circulation, regulating turning movements, improving access management and providing alley improvements to ensure that traffic does not inhibit safe pedestrian activity. In addition to vehicular options, greater pedestrian connectivity, safe crossing points at streets and an improved ability to move from parking areas to local shops should be strongly encouraged at every opportunity to make the District a vibrant pedestrian destination.
Encourage shared parking and clear wayfinding
The original building pattern and scale of Historic Dublin necessitates the use of small pockets of parking and creative solutions to ensure adequate parking resources. Continued effort should be made to reduce parking and maneuvering difficulty for patrons to the district. Efforts to find parking efficiencies should be addressed by both the public and private sector to benefit the success of all within the district. Maximization of on-street parking resources, parking levels and other techniques should be utilized to make parking as convenient as possible while maintaining the important architectural fabric and scale of the district. A comprehensive wayfinding system should also be provided throughout the district to direct patrons clearly and efficiently to public parking and local attractions/events.
Enhance the mixed use and civic nature of Historic Dublin
The District is a unique area of the City characterized by a mix of uses with a strong pedestrian orientation and potential as a civic center within the community. To ensure the future vitality of the area it is important to create new opportunities for mixed use and institutional development while maintaining and encouraging residential opportunities within and close to Historic Dublin. In addition, coordinating a location for a new civic use such as a future City Hall or Library will increase interaction in the District and establish new opportunities for public events to further promote Historic Dublinas a focal point.
Establish clearly defined parks, open spaces and greenway linkages in and around the District
Historic Dublin is surrounded by significant natural features such as the Scioto River and the Indian Run Falls. The City has established several parks and open spaces throughout the area to preserve the natural environment of the District as an amenity to residents and patrons. It is important to continue this effort by establishing a strong greenway connection to other areas of Dublin for improved pedestrian access. All efforts should be made to increase public access to the area’s natural amenities as a means to further enhance the special charm and uniqueness of Historic Dublin.
Implement plans for Historic Dublin
Public input during the Community Plan process strongly urged a desire to adopt plans as a clear blueprint for the district and to embark on a clearly defined path toward implementation. Significant public input and planning efforts represented by the Historic Dublin Revitalization Plan should be completed and coordinated with efforts to address market viability and economic analysis of Historic Dublin. Clear action plans should be derived that the community can follow to understand significant progress that has been made in the district and to evaluate success toward achieving future goals.
Planning Goals
…To enhance and revitalize Historic Dublin as activity center within the City that is vibrant, pedestrian-oriented and user friendly with an integrated mix of uses that supports economic, civic, recreational and housing opportunities for all segments of Dublin’s population.
